Wednesday, December 27, 2006

How to Create an HTML Newsletter

I get many compliments on my newsletter, and every so often I'm asked how I create my email newsletter (Ezine). It's not as tough as you might think.

In a nutshell, an HTML newsletter is a web page that is transmitted via some email broadcasting service. Because this format incorporates graphics and color, HTML newsletters are more attention-getting than plain text newsletters. Overall, when compared to a plain text newsletter, HTML newsletters:

--Have a higher click-through rate (more readers click on the links contained within your newsletter that link back to your site, affiliate program, or sales offers)

--Permit you to track your open rate (determine how many readers actually open your email newsletter)

--Help you continue to establish your brand in front of your readers, as it may carry the same look as your website or other marketing materials you may use

--Are read more often than plain text newsletters because of the eye-catching graphics

Here are 10 steps you can follow to make the creation of your email newsletter quick and easy:

1. Select your newsletter distribution service. Many small business owners start their newsletters by choosing to send them out via their email program (Outlook). When their list begins to grow to several hundred subscribers or more, this task begins to overwhelm them. The dangers you face by choosing to send your email newsletter out through your email program are two-fold:

a. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) can shut you down if you send out an excessive amount of email each day. If you exceed the daily limit of outgoing emails established by your ISP, they will brand you a spa*mmer and shut down your account, many times without warning and without any ability to reinstate your account.

b. When you start to get a larger number of subscribers, you'll begin to get emails asking you to remove them from the list (yes, it happens to us all!) or to change their email address or requesting your latest newsletter issue. Get 10-15 of these emails per day and you'll soon end up spending all of your time managing your list.

There are a number of distribution options available in various price ranges. If you plan on designing an ezine template yourself using an HTML editor, I recommend aWeber.com, which offers sequential autoresponders in addition to being able to send out your email newsletter. If you don't want to learn HTML and want to use a template-driven system in which all you have to do is cut and paste your text, I recommend ConstantContact.com. Both of these services offer automatic subscriber management (where subscribers can go in and change their email address or take themselves off a list) as well as the ability to customize your opt-in and thank you pages.

2. Determine your software needs. There are several heavy duty website design and HTML editing programs out there to help you design your newsletter template. If all you plan to do is create a newsletter, there's no need to spend lots of money. I recommend that you try this easy-to-use HTML editor found at CoffeeCup.com. If you're really interested in web design, I recommend you purchase DreamWeaver, which has a steep learning curve but will serve you well over the long-term.